Suzuki EN-150

[Steve_Halt]

Contrary to its name "Thunder" makes no sound. Whatsoever. A couple of times I though the bike went dead. Tacho showed otherwise.
Anyway...
1. Pricing:
I bought then bike from the official Suzuki dealer for 10800 yuan (if I remember it right).
Plates were 8500 yuan. Had no problem getting them.
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2. Bodywork:
Everything looks fine. Welding, frame, paint job. Everything is up to the standard and the bike feels like a quality product. There certainly is that level of attention to detail that some bikes lack. For instance, the tank filler keyhole cover is laced with a minuscule rubber band just so it doesn't make any noise.
All the controls are where they should be. The quality of plastic parts is definitely better than that of my YaXiang LD 450's.


3. Equipment:
The bike is stock as you see it in the pictures. I haven't added/modded anything. The setup is regular: mirrors, luggage rack, nothing else. The bike comes equipped with very sharp and loud (but not annoying) horn. That's an important thing! The low/high beam headlamp is very bright and shines exactly where it should. No additional setup required. I feel safe and comfortable riding at night.
The bike has a very huge tank (that needs tone filled with #97, BTW) and that lasts forever. I refilled her, like, 3 times since I bought her and she's being ridden daily. The mileage according to the manual is 1.5 L per 100 KM. That does feel like it and is truly impressive, especially compared to my YaXiang, which I have to fill up once in 2 days. The small windscreen is not really very helpful, but it does deflect wind at speeds above 100 and is a welcome thing.
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4. Ride:
It's as smooth as it can get. No sound, no vibration. In terms of comfort this must be one of the most comfortable bikes I've ridden. Baby likes it :) Very suitable for a girl to ride - my wife could operate it after 1.5 hour training. The ability to plant both feet on the ground when standing is certainly confidence inspiring.
The break-in period the shop mechanic set was 600 km. Must be broken in by now, then. In the very beginning gear shifting was kinda rough. Especially between the 1-st and 2-nd gear. Feels way better now. Had the clutch cable freeplay adjusted at the shop twice. The stock setup makes it engage by the end of the swing, didn't feel comfortable to me at all.
The pickup, well... there's no pickup. Or so I feel. This is definitely not a sport bike. It accelerates smoothly to its 100 something km/h and cruises comfortably at that speed. Sure, the bike can go faster but I felt no need to push the engine over its limit. 6-speed gearbox and small rear sprocket make it a nice small commuter. Actually, I noticed myself riding in the 3-rd gear in town without any need/desire to up/downshift. Feels more like a scooter than a bike.
Probably I could de-restrict the bike using a straight flow exhaust and resetting ECU somehow (yes, that thing is fuel-injected), but since it's a bike for my wife I don't think doing that would be a good idea.
Very nimble in corners, handles well and the adjustable rear shocks are great. The front fork is a bit...thin. I know it's enough for a 150, but still I'd want something beefier :)
The riding position is very comfortable and relaxed. The panel is easily read and even has a gear indicator. I think that's very helpful for the beginning riders. The thing redlines at 10K RPM and has no power beyond that even though the tacho is gauged to 12K. The useful power band is between 7K to 10K I'd say. You can ride it lower and it'll be very forgiving and will never cut off in the wrong gear. But if you want to have that "real-bike-not-a-scooter" feeling, you'd better ride her close to redline.
Pillion feels very good. The bike is small. I mean, very small. Still the place for the 2-up is more than enough and when I took my wife on a trip around Nanjing city she felt OK and said it was way better than any other bike I had owned except for a Honda Supermagna 750:)

5. Design:
Naturally, it's a scaled down street bike with some lovely fairing. I like it in blue, my wife likes it in blue. I think it'd look more beautiful in white with a red/black frame, but the shop had no other color options. I think I saw it in grey on some website, blue looks better still. My friends who are all into big bikes totally love this small Suzuki's design and believe it's an ideal city bike.
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6. Cons:
1) 10800 yuan seems a little bit too high for a bike like that.
2) I'd be happy to see disc brakes front AND rear. Still the rear drum is quite effective.
3) Too underpowered for me, but perfect for my wife.

More details to follow as the bike's being used.